Published: December 2024
Reading time: 5 minutes
Suitable for: Business Owners, Managers, Supervisors and Employees
Topics: Risk Assessment | Dynamic Risk Assessment | Hazard Identification | Safe Working
At a glance
Main goal: Identify and manage new risks as work progresses.
Who should carry them out? Employees who have received appropriate training and understand the task they are carrying out.
Key action: Stop, think, assess the new risk and only continue when it is safe to do so.
Remember: Dynamic risk assessments support written risk assessments—they do not replace them.
Why this matters
No matter how well you plan a task, workplaces can change unexpectedly. Equipment can fail, weather conditions can deteriorate, deliveries may arrive in the wrong place or new hazards can appear without warning.
A written risk assessment helps you plan work safely, but it cannot predict every situation. That’s why employees also need to be able to recognise changing conditions and respond appropriately.
This is where dynamic risk assessments play an important role.
What is a dynamic risk assessment?
A dynamic risk assessment is the process of assessing risks as work is taking place.
Instead of being completed in advance and written down, it involves continuously observing the work environment, identifying new hazards and deciding whether it is safe to continue.
A dynamic risk assessment should support an existing risk assessment, not replace it.
Employees should always begin work using the planned control measures and then remain alert to any changes that may introduce new risks.
When might a dynamic risk assessment be needed?
Dynamic risk assessments are particularly useful when:
- Workplace conditions change unexpectedly
- Weather conditions deteriorate
- Equipment develops a fault
- People enter the work area unexpectedly
- Deliveries or materials create new hazards
- Work activities change during the day
- Unexpected emergencies occur
In these situations, employees should stop, assess the situation and decide whether additional control measures are needed before continuing.
A practical example
Imagine an employee carrying out maintenance work using a ladder.
The written risk assessment has identified the hazards and appropriate control measures before work begins.
However, during the task:
- A delivery vehicle parks nearby
- Strong winds begin to develop
- Pedestrians start walking through the work area
These changing circumstances introduce new risks that were not present when the original assessment was completed.
The employee should carry out a dynamic risk assessment by:
- Stopping the task
- Identifying the new hazards
- Considering who could be harmed
- Introducing additional controls, such as moving the work area or postponing the task if necessary
- Only continuing once it is safe to do so
What should employers do?
Employers should:
- Complete suitable written risk assessments before work begins
- Train employees to recognise changing hazards
- Encourage employees to stop work if conditions become unsafe
- Create a culture where raising safety concerns is encouraged
- Review written risk assessments when recurring changes are identified
Employees should feel confident that stopping unsafe work is the correct decision.
What should employees do?
Employees should:
- Remain aware of their surroundings
- Look for changing conditions
- Stop and reassess if something changes
- Never ignore new hazards
- Report significant changes to their manager
- Follow the agreed safe system of work wherever possible
Dynamic risk assessment is about making sensible decisions that protect yourself and others.
What does the law say?
Although the legislation does not specifically use the term dynamic risk assessment, it requires employers and employees to respond appropriately when circumstances change and to ensure risks continue to be managed throughout the work activity.
Dynamic risk assessments are therefore recognised as good practice, particularly where work environments are unpredictable or conditions can change rapidly.
Need more help?
Dynamic risk assessments help employees respond safely when workplace conditions change unexpectedly. However, they are most effective when supported by suitable training, clear procedures and well-planned written risk assessments.
The Health & Safety Portal provides practical resources to help your organisation develop confident decision-making, including risk assessment guidance, e-learning courses, toolbox talks and risk assessment templates. By combining careful planning with the ability to recognise and respond to changing conditions, your workforce can work more safely and confidently every day.